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Forecast for the Skyline Area Mountains

Brett Kobernik
Issued by Brett Kobernik on
Friday morning, December 30, 2016

There is a LOW avalanche danger in most of the terrain. An isolated MODERATE avalanche danger exists on the steepest more east facing high elevation terrain. It is possible that a recently formed drift could still be triggered. It looks like the wind will increase from the west southwest later today. You may see some new drifts forming which you will want to avoid if they are on very steep slopes.

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Weather and Snow

The wind was almost nonexistent on Thursday with clear skies and mild temperatures. Plenty of good snow remains out of the most exposed higher terrain. Southerly slopes heated up and you'll find a crust on them this morning before they soften later in the day.

Recent Avalanches

No avalanches were reported from Thursday. A snowmobiler triggered a small wind drift in upper Ephraim Canyon and was caught and carried a short distance in it on Wednesday. DETAILS HERE This is the typical type of activity to anticipate along the higher ridges. Since the wind stopped and more time goes by, these drifts will become more stubborn and not so likely to release on a person. I tested numerous drifts on steep slopes on Thursday and I was not able to get any of them to crack out. Photo below: Snowmobile triggered wind drift in Ephraim Canyon, courtesy of Cade Beck.

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Additional Information

General Announcements

We will publish full detailed advisories Saturday and Sunday mornings by 7am. We will also be publishing basic avalanche danger ratings & info during the week.

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